New ambulance to be stationed at March

A new £135,000 ambulance is to be stationed in March as part of a major renewal of the service’s fleet, officials have announced.

The vehicle is expected to arrive at the Queens Street Close site in early November and is one of 120 new ambulances coming into service across the region over the coming months.

The programme is part of an ongoing upgrade of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust’s (EEAST) fleet, which will be made up entirely of vehicles which are five years old or less by the end of the current financial year next March.

Trust chief executive Dr Anthony Marsh said: “Our ageing fleet was a real concern amongst staff when I joined EEAST in January, and to have resolved this issue and have an entire fleet under five years old by March is an excellent achievement.”

Paul Henry, the trust’s head of operations, added: “These new vehicles will augment the other 147 new ambulances brought into service earlier this year and make our ambulance fleet one of the newest and best quality in the country.”

Eight new ambulances, which will replace older vehicles in the fleet, are also set to go into service at the King’s Lynn ambulance station over the coming months.

Staff there run the West Norfolk fleet of ambulances, which also serves the Wisbech area.

The first of its new vehicles is expected to come into service next week.

And officials say the investment will help to improve services for the public.

Terry Hicks, senior locality manager at King’s Lynn, said: “The fleet we have had here is an ageing fleet and they do a lot of miles from here up to the coast, across to Norwich, down to Thetford, to Cambridge or Peterborough.

“Having more reliable vehicles here is only going to benefit patients.”

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